Come up and see him tomorrow. There’ll be things to talk about.”
“I will, Mrs. Wertham.” The chair creaked as he stood up. “Guess I won’t keep you any
longer. Had I better have a word with Miss Doering? They’re still searching for Reisner.”
“Perhaps you’d better. Don’t tell her what’s happened. We don’t want it talked about. You
might say you’ve heard he’s in town. We’ll straighten things out tomorrow.”
“I’ll do that. Well, good night. I’m looking forward to working with you two. I’m looking
forward to it very much.”
“And so are we, Captain.”
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I listened to him tramp across the room.
“I’ll be dropping in on my bank tomorrow afternoon.”
“We’ll be there before that, Captain.” I could imagine the smile she gave him. “Good
night.”
The door shut.
We waited: she out there, and I in the darkness with Reisner’s dead body somewhere
behind me. We heard a car start up and drive away.
She pushed open the bathroom door.
“Well, I handled him, Johnny.”
“Yes.” I moved out of the darkness.
There was that cold, triumphant gleam in her eyes I had seen before.
“Better get going,” she said. “We’re practically in the clear now. They’ll think he went to
say good-bye to the lions and got too close. Get going, Johnny.”
I looked over my shoulder into the dark bathroom. I didn’t want to do it, but I could think
of no other way out. The thought of carrying him through the darkness brought me out in
goose-pimples.
“My car’s outside,” she said, speaking softly. “Put him in it and follow the carriageway
around to the back of the casino. You know where the pit is. It shouldn’t take more than five
minutes. Hurry, Johnny.”
“Maybe you’d better handle the car …”
“I’m staying right here. This is where you earn your share of the money, Johnny. Make a
mistake and it’s all yours. You killed him; you fix it. Get going!”
I went into the bathroom and turned on the light. He was lying on his back, his head still
wrapped in the towel. I kept my eyes averted as I took hold of him. His muscles were
wooden, and he was heavy. I got him across my shoulder and stood up. Sweat ran down my
face, and I had trouble with my breathing. As I came out of the bathroom with him, she
turned off the lights and opened the door.
As I passed her she jerked at the towel, pulling it away. I didn’t stop. The car was where
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she had said it would be. It was an open convertible, and I dropped him in the back seat
without any trouble. She came up with a blanket and spread it over him.
“Good luck, Johnny,” she said. “Come straight back. I want to talk to you.”
I got in the car, trod on the starter and drove away without looking at her. The clock on the
dashboard showed twenty to one. In the distance I could see the bright lights around the
swimming-pool. People were out there, bathing. The casino was lit up like a Christmas tree. I
could see men and women, in evening dress, on the verandah, caught glimpses of them
through the windows of tlje gambling rooms, and heard their hard, strident voices, raised in
excitement.
I drove slowly, with only the parking lights on, and followed the carriageway past the
casino. There were too many lights, and it was like driving with a searchlight focused on me.
